TASMANIA

Tasmanian Community Achievement Awards

2022 Finalists 

 

Get Moving Tasmania Physical Activity Award
Tasmanian Canoe Club of Ulverstone is helping people get on the water and get living. The Tasmanian Canoe Club runs free kayak sessions for community groups, schools, social groups and individuals in the North West region to improve kayak skills and safety on rivers. They founded ‘Pirate Paddling at Don’, a local sea kayaking group for weekly social paddling. In 2022, they started a junior slalom group.

 

Hobart Social Skates is a volunteer-based community group with over 960 people who enjoy roller skating and inline skating for health and wellbeing. Running weekly activities for the community and providing welcoming, all-inclusive spaces for physical activity, social interaction and self-expression. Since early 2019, the group has provided up to 100 free or low-cost social skate events each year in Southern Tasmania.

 

Reclink Australia of New Town is building resilience and a sense of community. Reclink is a not-for-profit organisation providing sport, specialist recreation and arts programs, and pathways to employment opportunities. They target the community’s most vulnerable and isolated people. They have 68 member organisations around Tasmania. In 2022, they passed on 60 pairs of football boots donated by the Sandy Bay Junior Football Club to students.

 

Womensport & Recreation Tasmania Inc Get Active Program enables community leaders to run small group physical activity and health education programs with Tasmanians most at risk of poor health outcomes. Programs address barriers such as low: self-esteem, motivation, body-comfort, stress-management, goal setting and nutrition. To date over three and a half thousand participants have successfully completed the program.

 

 

Heather & Christopher Chong Outstanding Achiever Award
Aaron Kropf of Devonport co-founded Loaves and Fishes Tasmania, taking on the good work started by SecondBite and adding components that encourage long-term change and focus not only on feeding people – but feeding people well. Loaves and Fishes provides relief to over 350 community programs, feeding over 16,000 people weekly. Aaron has invested over 21,000 paid and 7,500 volunteer hours in the food security field.

 

Lynette Green of Claremont has been volunteering for 54 years. She was a St John Ambulance cadet and a Claremont Brighton Rotaract Club Charter member. She volunteers at Carers Tas and Bucaan Community House. She is a volunteer walk organiser with the Heart Foundation. Lynette has been an Ambassador with Glenorchy on the Go for 11 years. In 2018, she was named Glenorchy Citizen of the Year.

 

John House of Hawley Beach provides sporting activities to over 250 people of all ages weekly. John started Port Sorell Indoor Sports in 2014, where he has had thousands of people play netball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis and handball. He personally coaches people of all ages and genders in cricket. John also works for APM Futures, where he works with young people with disabilities.

 

Kirsten Ritchie of Summerhill founded Strike It Out Inc, an organisation that gives out basic essentials such as food, clothing, shoes, blankets, toiletries, medical essentials, and accommodation to the less fortunate. They have a contract with Tasmanian Eye Institute to use a food trailer and 4wd vehicle, a mobile locker trailer has been designed for the homeless to use 24/7. From 2021-2022 alone, Kirsten volunteered over 2,000 hours.

 

 

EPA Sustainability Award
Resource Work Cooperative - Timber Reclamation of South Hobart was founded in 2021 as a new department, to reclaim vintage timbers from landfills and demolition projects and provide good quality dressed timbers below market value. They have salvaged an extra 9,000 kgs of timber destined for landfill or firewood. Resource also created a new workshop space, South Hobart Tip Shop, where they promote and educate about the reuse of materials.

 

Spring Bay Mill of Triabunna is a 43-hectare waterfront site and former wood chip mill that has been creatively upcycled into a specialised events destination. The Mill has decreased water use by 90%. Their Beach Shacks are supplied by rainwater, solar-powered and use a compostable toilet system. They have taken catering completely in-house. In 2021, they spread 9 million native plant seeds over 5,000 square metres.

 

City of Hobart became the first city in Australia to adopt a Single Use Plastic By-Law in 2021. The by-law bans problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic takeaway food packaging. It is estimated that the by-law prevents 600 tonnes of single-use plastics from going to landfills annually, equivalent to around 150 trucks full of waste. The Council also implemented the provision of public place organics bins.

 

Women's Health Tasmania of North Hobart is supporting women to try period-friendly underwear that replaces pads and tampons and is reusable. To conduct the project, WHT formed a partnership with Australian underwear, Modibodi, which provided bulk underwear at marginal cost. They also received an Urban Sustainability Grant from Hobart City Council. 252 women and non-binary people on low incomes were provided five free pairs of period-friendly underwear.

 

 

Fonterra Australia Agriculture Award
Leap Farm of Copping is a small-scale farm started by Iain and Kate Field. In 2021, Leap Farm was verified as Carbon Positive, in that more carbon is sequestered in soil than the operation emits. Iain and Kate share their knowledge on sustainability through their website, a free podcast, and field days. They are active members of Farmers for Climate Action, Landcare Tasmania and Sprout Tasmania.

 

Tasmanian Junior Beekeepers of Richmond is a not-for-profit that gives children aged 7 to 17 free access to learning all aspects of beekeeping. Founded in 2017, they offer full pollination to plate program, an in-school bee awareness program, and on-site practical beekeeping sessions. Their goal is to transfer knowledge and beekeeping skills to the next generation. They also hosted the first Australian National Youth Beekeeping Meeting.

 

Tasmanian Institute Of Agriculture - Matthew Harrison of Launceston is an internationally renowned scientist for his work on carbon, climate change and sustainability. Since October 2020 alone, Matt’s team has directly engaged more than 1,800 people in the Tasmanian agricultural sector. This has significantly improved adoption of low-emissions practices, resulting in abatement of 760 kilo-tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over 643,000 ha, improving the profitability of the livestock sector by at least $74 million.

 

Tunnel Hill Mushrooms of Mt Rumney was established by Dean and Anita Smith in a railway tunnel located on their farm. Inspired by the tunnel’s potential, Dean worked at Huon Valley Mushrooms to get training and mentoring from a mycologist. After years of trial and error, he started producing gourmet mushrooms in the tunnel. Tunnel Hill Mushrooms now supplies local restaurants with shitake, lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms.

 

 

MAIB Disability Achievement Award
Kiara Adams of Huonville has worked many hours for ‘Eating with Friends’, a council project serving food to community members in Huon Valley. She has also been part of a free community fireworks event for the past two years. Kiara was diagnosed with Autism at age 4. She is working toward becoming an Autism Ambassador to help young ones like her in the community.

 

Brett Christie of Shearwater is now the Junior Development Officer of Port Sorell Surf Lifesaving Club. Despite having his lower leg amputated, he expressed his desire to get back in the water and help coach the nippers. Brett is the first amputee in Tasmania to complete his bronze medallion. He is also a crew member for the Inflatable Rescue boat and is on the Emergency Response Team.

 

Corey Lee Barnes of Herdsman Cove overcame socio-economic disadvantage, child abuse, family breakdown and development delays. He has since transitioned to full-time employment and being trusted with additional responsibilities. Corey volunteers with The Big Issue Community Soccer Program and the Gagebrook Community Centre. In 2019, Corey represented Australia at the Homeless World Cup, which aims to inspire people facing housing insecurity and break down stigmas around homelessness.

 

David Wood of Acton Park is the coach of the first Tasmanian Wheelchair Rugby Team. He has volunteered with ParaQuad Tas in delivering its Spine Safe Education Program to primary and high school students. He is a motivational speaker at schools and a role model to people with or without a disability. David had a football accident at age 18, which left him quad/paraplegic.

 

Tasprint Community Group of the Year Award
Seishin Martial Arts of Monagu Bay is a judo club that offers dedicated training in disability-supported martial arts. Founded in 2020, they specialise in No Limits Judo for children and adults living with disabilities. The No Limits Judo also helps develop motor, social and emotional regulation skills. From 16 players, the club now has over 100 members and provides 30 hours of judo classes weekly.

 

Fingal Valley Neighbourhood House of Fingal was established in 1987. In December 2021, they opened a grocery store after the only grocery store in Fingal closed its doors. The store has since grown to have over 600 visits a week. It employs a coordinator and is linked to an employment program. Items close to spoiling are used to create meals and food hampers for vulnerable community members.

 

Just Cats Inc. of Longford is a charity that has taken and rehomed 8,000 cats and kittens since Rachel Beech founded it in 2012. In 2018, they opened a larger shelter for adoption, viewing and retail. In 2019, they took over the RSPCA Cat Shelter facilities in Mowbray. They operate a vet clinic and provide responsible cat ownership education programs and financial support to vulnerable cat owners.

 

Mission2aFuture - Launceston City Mission supports some of the most vulnerable members of the community by providing them with life skills to succeed on their own. The M2aF program works with people on personal growth and development, community engagement, training, and work readiness. Over the past four years, they have met with more than 100 community members each year to support them in achieving their individual goals.

 

 

Healthy Tasmania Health and Wellbeing Award
Live Well Tasmania of Wynyard has run three years of projects aimed at increasing physical exercise, healthy eating and mental health. This includes 2 to 3 weekly sessions of arts, movement, gardening, cooking and music aimed at disadvantaged people. They manage a vegetable box scheme, which supplies organically grown vegetables to the local community. They have a 63-hectare Community Farm where they hold Forest Therapy walks.

 

School Food Matters of Battery Point is a not-for-profit health promotion organisation founded in 1994. It is working in the food resilience space through piloting lunch programs for students, breakfast clubs and strategic work related to food security. It runs the SmartFood Program, offering a best-practice model for canteen and food service management. They work alongside schools on their policy, menu, food safety and approach to healthy eating.

 

Corina McCarthy of Midway Point has developed and run health and wellbeing programs in the last 12 years in Southern Tasmania communities. She runs Get Active Programs in areas of Southern Tasmania and Live Well Live Long Programs in Glenorchy and Clarence. Corina is an Area Coordinator for a number of Heart Foundation walking groups. She has a Certificate 4 in Fitness and a Nordic Walking certification.

 

Foundations to Flourish of King Island is an initiative promoting individual and collective wellbeing by embedding the principles of positive psychology in their community. The organisation delivers events, including workshops, guest speakers and social occasions, to provide resources and information to support wellbeing. Collaboration with other organisations has helped spread the message, as well as demonstrating a strengths-based approach.

 

 

APM Sustainable Disability Employment Award
Mosaic Support Services of Hobart provides dedicated pathways for their clients through Community Access Programs. Their Work Readiness Program develops employment skills or volunteering opportunities, including resume writing, literacy and numeracy skills. The Made By Mosaic Program aims to empower those living with a disability by supporting them to create unique handmade products, selling them through their Social Enterprise Store, local markets and gaining valuable retail skills.

 

Blueline Laundry of New Town is creating meaningful employment for people of diverse abilities, cultures and backgrounds. Of their 240 employees, 35% are people with disability, 35% are culturally and linguistically diverse, and 51% are female. Through their Supported Employment Program, team members with a disability perform real work alongside people without disabilities. They also have a sewing team that manufactures Alginate Bags, a medical-grade laundry product.

 

Bluegum Grounds Maintenance – NOSS Tasmania of Launceston employs 23 supported crew members. They perform broadacre grounds maintenance for major companies. The work includes brush cutting, weed management and native plant care. All crew members hold a White Card and undertake training to work on each site. Through employing Bluegum, customers deliver positive social impact within the community and generate thousands of dollars of economic benefit.

 

Possability provides an informed approach to their Community Based Supported Employment program across Tasmania. Participants are engaged in a process of discovery with staff investing time getting to know them, their families, communities and interests. Engaging with employers to provide opportunities for informational interviews, work experience and paid employment. Participants are fully supported throughout the entire process, including when in open employment.

 

 

Awards Australia Small Business Award
Alison’s Garden & Landscape Pty Ltd of Lindisfarne began in 1997 with $200, an old van and basic lawn mower. Alison’s secured multiple contracts with Public Housing across 23 years. A community conscious company eliminating unnecessary costs to the Tasmanian Government, proposed a preventative gutter cleaning regime to reduce replacement in 2016. In 2019, they proposed and developed raised vegetable gardens to encourage healthy lifestyles. In 2022, Alison’s secured another 8-year contract.

 

Cultura Espresso Bar and Restaurant of Hobart opened in 2010 as a local Italian restaurant, becoming a popular destination for breakfast and lunch for the city regulars. More recently transforming to a lunch and dinner restaurant, Cultura focuses on offering genuine, hospitable service and serving beautiful food. In 2022 they won the Bronze award for Best International Cuisine at the Tasmanian Hospitality Awards.

 

Hill Farm Preserves of Sisters Creek manufactures premium natural condiments and reserves without artificial flavours, colours or preservatives. Hill Farm Preserves is currently run by its third owner, Karin Luttmer, who has refreshed the company and product branding. Their products are sold via a Victorian distributor and an online store. They also export their products to Japan. The business is led and largely staffed by local women.

 

Scorpion Pest Management of Hobart has provided pest control services to the commercial, agricultural/rural and residential sectors since 2008. It now employs five technicians and three office staff and offers over 20 specialised services. In 2019, the business transformed into a more sustainable pest control company with its Keen to Get Green Campaign. From January to June 2022, its client’s retention rate is at 100%.